I know many of you have heard the buzz term "cloud computing". Well simply stated, this is the hosting of data and applications in remote locations (most likely data centers). If your IT company is telling you they have a cloud and its in their garage...run!

Wikipedia defines Cloud Computing as follows:

Cloud computing is the provision of dynamically scalable and often virtualised resources as a service over the Internet on a utility basis.[1][2] Users need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure in the "cloud" that supports them.[3] Cloud computing services often provide common business applications online that are accessed from a web browser, while the software and data are stored on the servers.
The term cloud is used as a metaphor for the Internet, based on how the Internet is depicted in computer network diagrams and is an abstraction of the underlying infrastructure it conceals.[4]
A technical definition is "a computing capability that provides an abstraction between the computing resource and its underlying technical architecture (e.g., servers, storage, networks), enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction."This definition states that clouds have five essential characteristics: on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, and measured service.

Now there are obvious concerns when it comes to moving your company into a cloud computing environment.

Several of these concerns are:

1. Does your cloud provider or IT provider really have a stable infrastructure to provide you with the service, support, and expertise you need. There are many local companies to Orlando make these claims and completely mislead the consumer.
2. Backups. Make sure all your data is being backed up in real-time and not nightly, weekly, etc...
3. Data Centers. Make sure your cloud is secure. To be sure of this, your provider will need to have your server, virtual or physical under its own lock and key. Additionally there are data centers that are more secure and they are called SAS70 Certified Data Centers. These are the data centers we use. They are stable and meet the requirements of HIPAA, FINFRA, and other regulatory agencies.
4. Connection to the cloud. Make sure you have enough bandwidth to support the connection. If your connection is not the same as a desktop or better then your users will not use the service. Therefore, we recommend at least a T1 connection for under 25 users. Above 25 users, we recommend a bigger pipe (internet connection).
5. Citrix. Although there are many ways to get connected to the servers, the most reliable and quickest response comes from using Citrix Software, WAN scalers and several other devices that enhance the connection.
6. Installation. Make sure your installation staff has the knowledge and experience to do the install. If not, disaster is soon to ensue. If you are at that point, please call us :)

Cloud Computing Future:
I truly feel that this is the future of computing for both the enterprise and the consumer market. The advantages are extreme. From saving money, saving on power consumption, to a fixed IT budget. The list of pros' is a mile long. Cloud Computing will be the future. We will see online operating systems, online applications and everything will stream direct from the internet. This is an emerging technology that is being adapted all across the world. If your company is still using PC's, then you are wasting your money.

We offer FREE demos to show you the quality and ease of use. Schedule a free demo today.